Lesotho+-+Antonio+Guillen


 * Lesotho **



= = = Antonio Guillen = = 10th-A = = Geography Unit Project = = Lesotho =

__ Brief Introduction: __
The location of the country, Lesotho, is in the continent of Africa. The total area of the country is 30, 355 square kilometers. It’s a slightly small country. It’s a landlocked country, surrounded by the country of South Africa. It’s a mountainous country that is 1,800 meters above sea level. The population of the country is 1, 930, 493 (July 2012 est.)

__ Population: __
1, 930, 493 (July 2012 est.) The population is small due to its poor economy, lack of jobs, lack of health, and lack of resources. Also a high excess mortality for AIDS keeps affecting the population.

__ Birth Rate: __
26.65 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) The birth rate is very high due to lack of education and economy. The lack of education is reflected on many young girls getting pregnant since they don't have a sexual orientation neither grown up women who don't know the difficulty of raising a baby. Lack of economy because people are not able to afford condoms and maybe they don't even know what a condom is since they have no education about sexual relationships. This high birth rate affects the population in general because all of those people having sexual relationships are getting infected by AIDS and their child's are being born with AIDS.

__ Death Rate: __
15. 18 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) AIDS influences a lot in infants and young population, which dies a lot every day due to this disease. Not only AIDS affect people but poverty since it’s a landlocked country that lacks of resources and jobs result in a poor population. This people are not able to receive a health care, food, or clean water. All of this affects people.

__ Net Migration Rate: __
-8.15 migrant(s) / 1,000 (2012 est.) Many people are living the country because it’s a landlocked country that lacks of every important resource and opportunities people should have. People are living to South Africa since it’s a neighbor country that has much more money and they have an opportunity to get a job and better economy.

__ Infant Mortality Rate: __
53. 44 deaths/1,000 live births Lesotho has a high infant mortality rate due to the high rate of AIDS in adult people. Kids are born with AIDS inherited in the genes by their parents. Also, many kids die since parents can't afford to buy food, medicines, and have a clean environment for their babies.

__ Population Growth Rate: __
0.332% (2012 est.) Country comparison to the world: 165 The population growth rate of Lesotho is very low. A reason may be because people are not coming to the country instead they are leaving. Also a high infant mortality rate, a low life expectancy, and a high death rate may restrain the population from growing at a steady pace. Many kids are born in Lesotho, however most of them die during their infant years, so not many get to be adults and have kids.

__ Life Expectancy: __
51.86 years. Country comparison to the world: 214. Male: 51.77 years Female: 51.95 years (2012 set.) The life expectancy in Lesotho is very low due to its bad health care, bad economy, and high rate of AIDS. Many people are living in extreme poverty, which affects them in their way of life living in the streets in bad health conditions, exposed to diseases, drugs, and bad living conditions. All of this kills many people at a very young age.

__ Doubling Time: __
210. 8433735 years It would take 210 years for the population to double. It would take a lot of time since population is not growing fast but very slow and in a low rate. This comes from many reasons like a lot of people are infected with AIDS, kids are dying young, people don't live long enough, and people are leaving the country to seek better opportunities.

__Stage of the Democratic Transition Model:__
Stage 3

__ MEDC OR LEDC? __ :
Lesotho is part of the Less Economically Developed Country. Since it is a landlocked and small country in the continent of Africa, it has many disadvantages like not having direct access to the sea, mountains, and deserts. Also, many people from Lesotho migrate to South Africa since it’s a developed country with better life opportunities. Lesotho health care is not good, many people die and many of them because of AIDS. No one comes here to invest since there are no reasons to create a company in here since it lacks of resources, health, and security. Therefore, Lesotho is part of the LEDC countries.

__ Population Major Issues __ :
The major issue Lesotho's population is facing is the excess mortality due to AIDS. This AIDS issue results in higher death rates, high infant mortality rate, low life expectancy, and lower population growth rates. So this disease is affecting in every aspect the population.

__ References: __
"Central Intelligence Agency." //CIA//. N.p., 6 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .

"Lesotho Facts." //, Facts about Lesotho//. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .

"Child Sponsorship." //About Lesotho ~ All About Lesotho//. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. .